Covenant Health Receives Fourth Forbes Honor

Posted on August 15, 2018

Covenant Health has been named one of America’s “Best Employers for Women” for 2018 by Forbes magazine. The health system is one of nine Tennessee companies to make the national list of 300 organizations representing all industry sectors.

The designation marks the fourth time Forbes has named Covenant Health to one of its “America’s Best” lists. The health system was named one of Forbes’ “Best Employers for Diversity” earlier this year and was included among the magazine’s overall “Best Employers” lists for 2016 and 2017.

“At Covenant Health, as in many healthcare organizations, women serve in roles ranging from direct patient care to departmental managers, senior leaders, and on our board of directors,” said Jim VanderSteeg, president and CEO. “They are committed to delivering compassionate care to our patients and to using their talents and expertise to help our health system achieve excellence. We are fortunate to have dedicated women working and leading at every level of health system operations, and I am grateful for their contributions to our success.”

Tennessee organizations named to the Best Employers for Women list include BlueCross & BlueShield of Tennessee, Clayton Homes, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Vanderbilt University, among others.

Forbes partnered with market research company Statista to identify the companies included in the magazine’s first-ever ranking of America’s best employers for women. Statista surveyed women and men working for businesses across the country with at least 1,000 employees. Criteria included working conditions, diversity, and how likely the employees were to recommend their employer to others. Female respondents also were asked about factors such as parental leave, discrimination and pay equity. The final list ranks the 300 employers that received the most recommendations and which have the most gender-diverse boards and executive ranks.

“We are so proud to be named to this list. Our current workforce is 76 percent female, and women hold 48.3 percent of our senior leadership positions,” said Debi Welch, senior vice president of human resources. “We strive to place our exceptional employees into key leadership roles and we are proud that so many of these positions are held by women.”

“At Covenant Health we provide opportunities such as enhanced tuition reimbursement, our nurse residency program, and leader education programs,” she continued. “We affirm the value of personal and professional development for all employees.”